Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1887-03-14
A Mummy Unwrapped.

New Brunswick has had strange sensa-
ton. 1t has attended kind Of Egyptian
seance. The mummy that ofaroyal priestess,
secured by Dr.. Lansing, professor in the
Theological Seminary, through the agency
Of his missionary father at Cairo, was un-
wrapped the other day before an audience
of sbout one hundred guests invited from
the city and vicinity. From the inscrip.
tons on the mummy case, as explained by
Dr. Lansing, this priestess must have been
of high rank, and have been embelmed in
the time Of Moses, or about 400 years B. c.,
which would make nearly 5000 years as the
period OF her preservation. The double
crown of Upper and Lower Egypt was on
either side of the coffin, and besides these
was the picture of the hawk headed deity,
aurmounted by the suu's disk, thus indicat.
ing that the remains once belonged to
person Of the roysl line. And 8 small white
tablet found with the mummy told the
same story Sometimes there are found
articles of great interest within the wrap.
piDgs-such as necklaces, mirrors, caskets
containing cosmetics, scarabei, especially
papyrus roll containing portions Of cr even
the whole Book OF the Dead. And it was
hoped one or more of these things might
be discovered on this occasion. But moth
ing wee found. Perhaps the Book Of
the Dead had been deposited, as was
sometimes done. in the jar that held the
intestines-for, ia the process ofembGlmng,
the intestines the heart and liver were re-
moved from the body and preserved in sep
arate vessels. Although there was some
disappointment because 10 find" was made,
yet there was DO lack OF interest. In fact
the attention WAS during part of the time
almost painfully alert whilst the bandages
were being removed. The outer strips we're
here and there in excellent condition; but
as the body WAS approached they were
rotten and brittle, and fairly embodied in
bitumen and other preservetive materials.
The hands were found crossed upon the
breast the teeth and finger nails perfect, the
flesh absorbed, leaving the skin drawn
closely over the bones. The height was
about five feet, and specific appearances
showed the figure to have been that Of
female. aged perhaps sixty or six!y.ive
years The most interesting feature about
these muumies is that they reveal the be.
lief OF Egyptians in the resurrection Of the
body They hed that afleT three thousand
years the soul would return and re-
unite itself TO the body in case the
body were still 10 existence. Hence
they eudeavored by their rocl: cut tonnbs
and pyramids and by their processes of
embalmug to guard the body sganst the
violence Of man and the decay OF nature.
Where did they get this doctrine Of the
body's resurrection? It would seem that the
heathen, however enlightened and phil
osophca. were without the least faith in
this doctrine. On the other hand, they
thought it absurd and impossible. Socrates
held firmly enough to the immortality of the
soul, but not at all to the resurrection Of the
body. And SO the stoics and epicureans and
other philosophers listened respectfully to
Paul at Athens until he maintained the
resurrection Of the body, when they began
to mock The very conception Of such
thing seemed to them fit subject for ridi-
cule. And thus it might be shown in detail
that this doctrine was, with the exception of
the Egyptians, peculiar to the Hebrews to
whom God had Immediately revealed it,
Perhaps it passed from the Hebrews to the
Egyptians However this may be, it is at
any rate pleasing as we'll as significant
fact that this precious Christian truth in re-
gard to the body's restoration to life was so
earnestly and devoutly held at that early
day.